Ralph Lauren's Strategic Move into the Metaverse

In a bold strategic move, the CEO of Ralph Lauren recently announced that the iconic consumer brand will be investing in and exploring opportunities within the metaverse.

This decision is driven by their understanding that this virtual reality space has become increasingly popular among their target customers.

The metaverse refers to an immersive digital world where people can interact with each other and experience various forms of entertainment, all through virtual realities. It offers endless possibilities for engagement, creativity, and connection across diverse communities.

Recognizing its potential impact on consumer behavior patterns as well as emerging trends in technology-driven experiences, Ralph Lauren aims to position itself at the forefront of this rapidly evolving landscape.

By embracing innovation and adapting to changing customer preferences proactively , they believe they can create unique value propositions tailored specifically for consumers immersed in these futuristic realms.

Through such investments in the metaverse - whether it be creating branded virtual environments or collaborating with influential personalities within those spaces.

Ralph Lauren intends not only to engage existing customers but also attract new audiences who are actively participating in this digitally enhanced universe. In doing so,t hey aimto enhance brand loyalty while expanding reach beyond traditional physical boundaries.

By aligning themselves strategically with where their customers are headed –into dynamic online worlds filled with limitless imagination–


You can read the unrolled version of this thread here: https://typefully.com/rickhuckstep/Roqej6u

Ralph Lauren's Metaverse Investment

How #FTC damaged effective altruism?

After #FTX, the Bahamas-based #cryptocurrency exchange founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, collapsed, two philosophical movements closely associated with Bankman-Fried – “effective altruism” and “long-termism,” were damaged.

The latter may sound esoteric, but it has had real-world consequences, leading to a crisis among charities founded on the principles.

👉 What is effective altruism?

A decade ago, the Scottish philosopher William @MacAskill, one of the world’s foremost advocates of effective altruism, spread the word.

Here's the thing: Sam Bankman-Fried became a multi-billionaire by founding FTX.

• Bankman-Fried made questionable business decisions and his house of cards collapsed.
• This put “effective altruism in crisis’ and “some of the movement’s institutions [were] suddenly broke”

🤔 What the FTX “debacle says about ‘effective altruism’ in principle and practice’ is “nothing good”, said Michael @Hiltzik in the @latimes

Earlier this month @willmacaskill tweeted that the precept of earning to give “in no way justifies fraud”

PS: I wrote this thread with @typefully.

https://rickhuckstep.com/typefully


How FTX damaged effective altruism

Looking for an alternative to Twitter?

Let’s face it, none of us knows where this is going to end up. The Chief Twit has hardly displayed any confidence that he knows what he’s doing.

So, here are 6 alternatives to consider:

Starting with the one I’m moving over to…

1. #Mastodon - searches for Mastodon have never been as high as they are right now, with search traffic up almost 400% in November.

Familiar-looking profile pages, follower and following counts, timelines and hashtags should no doubt help Twitter leavers feel right at home.

The key difference is that it is decentralised rather than a singular platform like Twitter, with millions of users spread across independent communities rather than all being in the same place.

The onboarding can be a little complicated compared to mainstream platforms - so it may be worth reading our full explainer to get up to speed before jumping in.

2. #Bluesky - Launched by Jack #Dorsey, who co-founded Twitter in 2006, he first announced the spin-off project named Bluesky back in 2019, and it launched into a testing phase earlier this year.

It describes itself as a "social protocol", which - like #Mastodon - promotes the idea of a space where the users are independent of the platform itself.

The idea is it would be immune from the whims of one person. The waiting list for #Bluesky has ballooned to more than 30k

3. #Tumblr - a casual blogging platform, where #Twitter meets #WordPress, and allows anything from text and photos to music and videos to be posted.

Tumblr has also been poking fun Twitter - launching "Important Blue Internet Checkmarks" for $7.99. You can even get two of them.

4. #Tribal - If you're looking for the platform that most closely resembles #Twitter visually, Tribel might be the place.

Positioning itself as a "grassroots social network" that's "free of hatred and fake news", Tribel also insists it does not harvest user data.

More than any other platform, #Tribal has also been openly boasting of its credentials as a Twitter alternative, even proudly announcing that Musk, Donald Trump, and Kanye West are banned.

According to a study by @FinancialWorld, search traffic shot up a whopping 400% when the American actor and producer #KenOlin publicly endorsed #Tribel as his #Twitter successor of choice.

5. #Cohost - Like #Bluesky, Cohost is currently in a testing phase, and you may face a wait to get in.

The platform styles itself on the #Twitter model of followings and followers, but its big promise is that no adverts or algorithms will dictate the makeup of your timeline.

6. #Logoff - One of the broader options available, this offers those who take it up the opportunity to put their phone down, read a book or watch a film, or perhaps even go outside. 🤣

In all seriousness, with Elon’s #Twitter megalomania and all the other platforms chasing #TikTok’s influencer first model, maybe it’s time to leave #socialmedia and quit altogether.


PS: I wrote this thread with @typefully.

https://rickhuckstep.com/typefully
#typefully #twitercontent #twitterscheduling #twitterthreads

You can read the unrolled version of this thread here: https://typefully.com/rickhuckstep/cDtJMZ9

Six alternatives to Twitter

"Security, regulatory compliance, trust. These are the main reasons we’ve been serving you since 2011. "

#Bitstamp just emailed me, as did #Coinbase yesterday.

They're in "market reassurance" mode, making sure they escape the fallout from #FTX


They explicitly wanted me (the market) toknow that #Bitstamp has no exposure to #FTX or #Alameda Resear


Re customers’ and institutional clients’ funds, #Bitstamp said they:

- held them separately from corporate funds.

- held 1:1 in custody or in bank accounts, with market-leading crime insurance.

- Never lent out or otherwise repurposed without customers’ instruction.

All very reassuring, but as the #FTX story unfolds, its going to reveal the extent to which VCs and hedge funds have leveraged retail investor deposits, taking the upside and leaving the exposure with the retail clientele

Market reassurance from Bitstamp

🦤Well, that hasn’t gone so well! Having bought Twitter with a mission to clean up fake accounts and proclaimed that “comedy is back on Twitter”, Elon’s new $8/month subscription service has been ROCKET FUEL for comedian tweeters. Now it’s over!

Some are funny, many are distasteful or offensive and a few caused real problems for corporations.

🦤Eli Lily’s share price bombed after a tweet from a verified account claimed insulin was now free.

🦤Chiquita issued a denial after a verified account tweeted they’d overthrown Brazil.

🦤 A verified “Pepsi” tweeted “Coke is better”


🦤They even went after Tesla with a verified fake account.

The thing is this (being serious now). This is an almighty Sh$tshow.

It’s costing Elon Musk far more than the $47 billion he spent to buy the platform.

Musk’s reputation as a one-of-a-kind, brilliant brain is taking a beating. Can it recover?

At this rate, Elon Musk will be joining Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng in the “that didn’t go to plan” club

I dont want Twitter to fail, but I can’t see how Elon Musk turns it around all the time he’s in charge.

Without an adult in the room, Twitter is doomed (doomed i tell you!)



PS: I wrote this thread with @typefully.

https://rickhuckstep.com/typefully

Musk joins Truss in the “That didnt go to plan” club

If you're over the age of 30, here's why you need to take notice of what's happening amongst the digitally native Gen Zs.

In a survey for Roblox, nearly three quarters of the under 25s surveyed said that they will spend money on digital clothing and accessories.


💰31% spend up to $5 monthly

💰 about 30% spend up to $10-$20 each month

💰 c12% spend $50-100 each month.

💰 27% users say they have spent $20 to over $100 on a single virtual item.

💰1 in 4 say they own over 50 items their avatar can wear.

What's The "So What?"?

The so what is that this generation is perfectly at ease with spending money on digital assets. The amount is irrelevant at this stage.

The point is that they think nothing of converting real money into digital money on the gaming platform, to then buy things for their avatars and gaming experience.

It's perfectly normal to them when it seems a waste of money to me (but then I will think nothing of spending €3 on a golf ball and hitting it into a lake!)

In the report you'll see a lot of mention of big name retail brands, all playing in this space.
https://blog.roblox.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/FINAL_2022-Metaverse-Fashion-Trends-report_Roblox-x-Parsons.pdf

To find out more about what consumer brands are doing in web3 and the metaverse, read this 👉 https://rickhuckstep.com/brandstrategy

#roblox #metaverse #web3 #tokens #digitalassets #techtrends #genz #gena #3dgames

PS: I wrote this thread with @typefully. https://rickhuckstep.com/typefully

#twitterthreads #twittertools #twitterproductivity #contentmanagement

Gen Z trends in the Metaverse

Beijing Increases Control Over #ByteDance Rival #Kuaishou Through Equity Stake

What des it mean?

A thread...
@theinformation

https://www.theinformation.com/articles/beijing-increases-control-over-bytedance-rival-kuaishou-through-equity-stake

A Chinese state-owned broadcaster recently took an equity stake in the domestic business of #Kuaishou, one of the country’s most popular video apps.

They also appeared to gain a seat on the board of that business, according to corporate records.

Beijing’s actions involving #Kuaishou suggests the government’s years long regulatory crackdown on tech and media isn’t taking a backseat to efforts to solve worsening economic challenges.

It’s the latest move by #PresidentXi #Jinping’s government to exert more control over domestic internet content providers.

It resembles previous acquisitions of stakes in the Chinese businesses of #ByteDance, #TikTok’s parent, and #Weibo, the country’s equivalent of #Twitter.

The question China interference in tech co oanies is a hot potato in the West

This news is unlikely to ease concerns that the CCP has a hand on the algorithms and data if platforms like

https://youtu.be/z9pIZzOM

Is China's influence on tech firms a problem?

#Twitter’s old verification program was launched in 2009.

It was started amid pressure to authenticate accounts of public figures and agencies to protect the public.

A good thing, right?

So why's everyone pissed at #Elon's new system?

https://time.com/4414194/twitter-blue-tick/

“Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bulls***,” tweeted Musk on Nov. 1.

“Power to the people! Blue for $8/month.”

Users who opt-in for the new verification service will also experience half of the ads and be able to post longer videos on the platform.

However, anyone who already has the old blue check mark will lose it in a couple of months if they choose not to pay the fee.

It is still not clear if users will have to authenticate their identity, or if they will simply receive a verification symbol regardless.

Twitter products team manager Esther Crawford tweeted that the newest Twitter Blue is not live just yet.

Android users also do not have access to this new feature.

https://twitter.com/esthercrawford/status/1588969361976741888

No launch date has been officially announced, though some speculate that it might go live starting Nov. 7

https://twitter.com/MikeSington/status/1588307942687711232

Twitter Blue was previously described as a monthly subscription “that gives the most engaged people on Twitter exclusive access to premium features", like editing a tweet.

It is currently available in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Critics of the verification subscription plan argue that it takes away from the original intent behind the blue check, which helps users identify if they are receiving information from a reliable source.

Musk said in a tweet Saturday that accounts that attempt to impersonate previously verified profiles on the platform would be suspended.

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1588995519602651136

Some also argue the company’s newest verification plan puts much at risk in an era of online misinformation, especially as Election Day occurs the day after the program’s suspected launch.

Journalists, political scientists and politicians, among others, expressed their concerns about the change online.


https://twitter.com/NikkiMcR/status/1588384805045301248

Why is every one pissed at Twitter new verification

The case for #CBDCs in one stat!

💲in 2019 the US issued $136bn in prepaid debit cards

👎From which issuers collected $490 million in fees!

That's a transffer of half a billion dollars from the less well off to sharehholders

Stat taken from the latest issue of Cashless - the newsletter by @richardturrin

If you want to stay up to date with #CBDCs, #payments and #digitalcurrencies, you should subscribe. It's free!



The case for CBDCs

The Friends With Benefits #DAO has partnered with @Hennessy to launch Café 11

#Cafe11 re-images café society of 1920s Paris with an exclusive  #NFT social club

Members get exclusive invites to #blockchain-enabled events around the world.

https://youtu.be/bNHo3j0QiA4
@FWBtweets